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Lecture Notes Violence And the Brain
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Lecture notes on Violence and the Brain
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VIOLENCE AND THE BRAIN1
,Week 1: Introduction to Violence and the Brain
Reine, A. (2014): Anatomy of Violence Chapter 1, 3 and 5
Chapter I: How Violence Evolved 23-55p.
In 1871, Cesare Lombroso worked as a psychiatrist and prison doctor at an asylum for the criminally
insane, he elaborated a theory: There was a basis for crime originating in the brain and that criminals
were evolutionary throwbacks to more primitive species.
The approach of the study: Anthropological perspective on how different niches may have risen to the
ultimate in selfish behaviour → Psychopathy.
I. The Cheating Game
All violent crimes are informed by a primitive evolutionary logic. Evolution made violence and
antisocial behaviour a profitable way of life for a small minority of the population.
1. Position in society: Gaining a reputation for aggression not only increases status in one's
social group but also allows more access to resources and deters aggression from others.
2. Selfish Genes1: The gene machine has been built to generate ideas of doing good in school or
having a job to motivate into gaining status and resources that will translate into reproductive
success. Fitness—an organism’s ability to pass on its genetic material—is central to the
evolution of all behavior and the driving force behind selfishness.
3. Cheating: Reciprocal altruism can lead to cheating if you fail to reciprocate in the future.
Psychopaths can be found in the group of individuals cheating a lot. Even if they are often
easily discovered by reciprocal altruism the psychopath will leave this social network and
migrate to a new population → Displacement of the psychopath: Nomadic existence,
breaking off relationships, poor parenting.
II. Psychopathy across cultures
The main method has been to compare cultures differing in antisocial conduct on ecological and
environmental factors that give rise to different reproductive strategies and social behaviors.
!Kungs Bushmen of Good hunting skills, low fertility, big parental care, reliable reciprocation
Kalahari desert of altruistic acts, careful choosing of mates and high parental investment
Southern Africa in offspring. → Personality more aligned to altruism than to cheating.
Mundurucu villagers Easy growing of crops, women carry out most of the food production,
in the Amazon Basin and big availability of food results in males engaging in competitive
interactions like politics, gossiping and elaborate ritual ceremonies. Little
1
The selfish gene, Richard Dawkins 1976
2
, care for children. The women are seen as dangers altogether with sex. →
Personality associated with cheating, antisocial strategy rather than
reciprocal altruism.
Many of the features of the Mundurucú have parallels
with features of psychopathic behavior in modern
industrialized societies. For example, psychopaths show
lack of conscience, superficial charm, high verbal skills,
promiscuity, and lack of long-term interpersonal bonds
Yanomamo Indians They break the rules when it is in their interest. They participate in the
Northern Brazil and forcible appropriation of women, call themselves ‘Waiteri’ (Fierce). Boys
Southern Venezuela are socialized into acts of aggression from a young age, 30% of the deaths
are due to violence. Most of the killings are cases of jealousy and engage
in raids on villages followed by killings and executions.
III. Killing Your Kids
The less genetically related two individuals are the more likely it is that a homicide will take place2. In
theory, the offender and the victim are only 1.8% genetically related in the case of a homicide.
● Evolutionary level of unrelatedness: a paternal strategy to push the child out, to minimize
the resources given to him and maximize resources for others. The killing is done in early life
because the parents change their minds about their investment.
2
Martin Daly and Margo Wilson
3
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